Workers Comp Question - California

You know what I think I made a mistake, contractor A that does have workers comp - this is to cover his employees, while contractor B does not have employees and would sub out the work. Contractor B would not be doing the work himself just pulling permits and supervising.

Workers Comp Question - California

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan356

You know what I think I made a mistake, contractor A that does have workers comp - this is to cover his employees, while contractor B does not have employees and would sub out the work. Contractor B would not be doing the work himself just pulling permits and supervising.

Let me guess, Contractor "B" is cheaper?

This seems pretty cut and dry to me. One is covered, one is not. Unless you are going to check each sub that "B" uses and verify their coverage, the liability will remain.

Workers Comp Question - California

Of course! But I'm not sure its so clear, because A has his own cabinet shop, so the workers he employs directly are covered by that policy. However, most of the work is not cabinetry (in fact cabinetry is a tiny portion), so does A's coverage extend to his subcontractors? If not, then the only reason he has the coverage is for his own employees, and that is a state requirement to hold a license anyway. If I'm only able to verify that 5% of the work is covered by the workers comp policy then how do I figure out the rest? It seems pretty common that contractors with no direct employees don't carry workers comp insurance.

Workers Comp Question - California

Rusty, I heard a similar story from Contractor B - he basically said any sub-contractor he uses, if that sub-contractor has employees, he would have workers comp insurance. Which is akin to saying everyone will be licensed. However, if he hires a subcontractor that is a sole employee, then that person would NOT have works comp insurance since it wasn't required, and by the sound of it, it wouldn't provide coverage anyway. So, second question: if your works comp doesn't cover anyone, then what about yourself? What happens if you are doing a job for someone and you yourself get hurt?

Workers Comp Question - California

So, second question: if your works comp doesn't cover anyone, then what about yourself? What happens if you are doing a job for someone and you yourself get hurt?

It's just a generic WC policy that is required by other GC's most times to cover their rear-end.

I don't, and never will, carry WC on myself, although I carry it on 4 employees. What happens when I get hurt at work? My personal health insurance kicks in, and I have disability insurance that costs a fraction of what WC would cost.

Workers Comp Question - California

But I was working alone. In this area, almost all tradespeople work alone, except roofers. It is hard to support another family.

I totally understand.

I was just talking to a mason on Wed. - I had out on a property, looking at some repairs we had to estimate. Its the same with him.

The only thing is that he files exemption on his policy (he & his partner are exempt from coverage). So if he works on my jobs, I have to pay to cover both of them, on my WC policy.

I don't know how that works (or affects the HO) if they are on the Home Owner's property and someone (one of them) get's injured. My understanding is their policy will cover others that work for them (though - they work alone), but the policy will not cover them (due to the exemption filing).

Workers Comp Question - California

Even tho I don't need WC for my city license, some entities can require it. I gave up the government apts because when I add in the WC expense, I have to bid too high to get them. Some agencies like the Housing Authority don't realize, that they are still liable if I get injured even if I carry WC, since it won't cover me anyway. It is just wasted money for both oh us.

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